FW
Two German manufacturers Märkische Faser and Kelheim Fibers are offering spun dyed fibers in polyester and viscose. Textiles made from a blend of spun dyed polyester and viscose fibers combine the advantages of both fibers. They are easy-care and dimensionally stable yet feel pleasantly soft on the skin and offer high wearer comfort. They are ideally suited for all applications that need large quantities of fabric of a precisely defined shade and that must deliver comfort and wear qualities as for example professional clothing or uniforms, but also furnishing or upholstery fabrics.
Spun dyed fibers have always been an important part of the range of products both of Märkische Faser and of Kelheim. Here, color pigments are incorporated in the spinning mass before the spinning process and are therefore homogenously distributed in the whole fiber. These fibers – and the final product – offer a particularly high color and light fastness. The colors do not bleed during washing and they keep their brilliance even after many washing cycles. In contrast to a conventional dyeing process, the colors can be reproduced exactly. Besides the usually lower production costs and a shorter throughput time, this is one of the main advantages for the further processing chain.
Jeans with Lycra dualFX technology deliver a comfortable, lasting fit for all body types regardless of their shape or size. This technology combines two Lycra brand stretch fibers to add extra flexibility and bounce back recovery to denim. This means jeans hold their shape all day, every day resisting bag and sag while delivering exceptional comfort and fit.
Lycra has been successfully growing its branded differentiated fiber business for 60 years but has had particular success in the last five years in shifting from a mix of commodity and differentiated fiber business to nearly all differentiated or specialty fibers. Lycra is at the forefront of stretch denim and the athleisure trend that followed getting its name known through the intimate apparel and swimwear sectors. Product innovation, long at the core of the company and what set the Lycra brand apart from other spandex and elastane companies, is even more of a focus now. The company is even more committed to bringing out category-changing products that create premiums for its customers. One of the newest innovations is Lycra Fitsense, which allows Lycra fiber technology to be screen-printed onto a fabric or garment for targeted support. Lycra Fitsense allows designers to create lighter weight, breathable, cooler fabrics that offer targeted compression and support.
LSJH has developed technology for sorting textile waste. This is an infrared-based technology that promises to give textile recycling a giant leap forward by replacing manual sorting with an automated method.
LSJH, based in Finland, is a recycling firm and is in the pilot phase of a processing plant that aims to accelerate the textile circular economy. The goal is to create a facility that will be able to use the new infrared sensor to process all discarded textiles from Finland as well as textile waste from abroad. The recycling firm will deploy the new technology to sort waste textiles starting this autumn. Different fibers will be used for different products, with better quality material reserved for thread that could be used to manufacture new clothing.
So far, waste textiles have been manually sorted in Finland as well as in other parts of Europe. This means that workers have checked labels to identify different kinds of materials. However, labels can be inaccurate or may even be missing. This becomes problematic given that industries using recycled fibers to manufacture new products need to be certain of the raw material they are using. The optical recognition technology currently under development will improve the reliability of identification of fibers in fabrics and will help ensure better quality textile products.
The Myanmar Garment Industry Strategic Plan 2014-2021 laid out by the Myanmar Garment Entrepreneurs Association has set an export target of $10 billion and a goal to create one million job opportunities in the sector. The report further reveals that the export volumes for the 2018-19 fiscal year up to August 2019 have hit $4.37 billion, compared to $3.2 billion in the same period a year ago, an increase of $1.17 billion.
Garment exports have been rising annually in Myanmar, especially since 2013, when the European Union granted goods from Myanmar preferential access to the EU market under the Everything But Arms tariff scheme. The industry in Myanmar is being boosted by factors such as Thai cut-make-pack companies setting up shop in Myawaddy, Kayin State, near the Myanmar-Thai border to gain benefits from the EU’s preferential treatment for Myanmar. New factories are also boosting volumes.
China was a major buyer of Indian cotton yarn. But of late, its share has dwindled to less than one-fifth. The recent slide can be attributed to overall macroeconomic conditions globally, the falling manufacturing sector in China, and most crucial the US-China trade war. On the textile front, China has started sourcing more yarn from Vietnam, which in turn is one of the major importers of Indian cotton. The other factor is duty free access given for import of cotton yarn by China to countries like Pakistan and Vietnam. While Indian yarn incurs 3.5 per cent to four per cent duty in China, the levy is nil for yarn exported to China from Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
There is a mismatch between the counts required by China and Indian supplies. The majority of spinners in China want 32s count yarn. On the other hand, India majorly produces and exports 30s count.
India is among the largest producers of cotton in the world. But there has been an increase in the minimum support price of cotton by 25 per cent to 28 per cent while prices have fallen sharply in the global market. So the production cost of yarn has gone up in India and Indian prices are now not viable in the international market.
The rules of origin clause will determine the fate of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). This provision determines the country of origin and in turn the economic nationality of goods.
Deliberations during this phase could be chaotic for three reasons. In the present global value chain, no good is entirely produced or manufactured in any single country. Second, neither the country of origin nor production is defined. Last, China desperately needs access to Indian markets more than the other way round. And India is offering very few concessional tariff lines to China to prevent any onslaught of Chinese duty-free goods. China may set up manufacturing and assembly plants in Asean countries to exploit the China-Asean compensatory tariffs (for raw materials and intermediate goods). It may then make the most of Asean-India concessions (finished products) under the RCEP umbrella. The RCEP region will get access to Indian markets irrespective of which RCEP country exports to India. If electronic goods from China, after retail packaging in Vietnam, get imported to India, it can rightfully claim zero-duty offered to Asean, even though no such concession is offered to China.
The argument that substantial reduction in tariffs pertains only to Asean countries -- and not China -- appears farcical in this context.
For the first time, Bluesign is holding consultations with both external and internal stakeholders to update its Bluesign system criteria. The consultation which has been extended from system partners, to NGOs, trade associations, and various textile industry authorities has also been extended to September 30, 2019.
Bluesign takes a holistic look at environmental health and safety in the textile industry with strict criteria placed on input streams, raw materials, chemical formulations along with resource use. A draft version of the updated criteria is still available on the Bluesign website. The latest revision includes language refinements for better understanding, specific changes in content, and the development of new criteria to ensure the Bluesign System is ‘better aligned’ with the textile industry and related areas.
Bluesign regularly revises limits and usage bans for chemical substances that are published in the Bluesign system substances list (BSSL) for consumer safety limits to produce a comprehensive restricted substance list (RSL) for download that brands can use to improve chemical management in their supply chains.
"Nearly 50 percent materials such as multi-colored prints and textured materials can’t be measured by a traditional spectrophotometer. For these, the industry has introduced innovative spectrophotometers that offer the benefits of digital color measurement and communication to this previously neglected category. The new technology is already shortening the development and production process."
To say that fashion and apparel purchasing trends have changed over the years would be a gross understatement. Seasonal and designer-driven apparels, earlier marketed in retail outlets, are now sold on social networking platforms within seconds of being launched.
This is pressurising apparel brands to condense their product lifecycle and respond to trends at record speed. As a recent McKinsey survey revealed, around 80 percent apparel companies are working on improving their delivery speeds with an additional 19 percent planning to improve within the next 12 months.
Both large and small apparel brands are trying to achieve quicker, more efficient turnarounds while staying true to their brand identity and maintaining quality.
Need to focus on the color palette
However, one factor these brands tend to overlook is the selection of proper colors for their apparels. As there are only limited colors that can be successfully applied to specific types of fabric, brands need to pay special attention to their palette creation. They need to work with color specialists to ensure that all technical limitations of colors are taken into account from the very beginning and don’t contribute to production delays.
They also need to communicate these colors across their supply chain. This will eliminate differences in visual evaluations which can lead to sample rejections, wastage of time and confusion. For this, the industry relies upon specialised equipment, such as spectrophotometers, and quality control software to digitally measure and communicate colors between brands and their suppliers. These tools capture accurate, repeatable color measurements that can be precisely communicated down the supply chain — regardless of location, individual color perception or other influencing factors.
New technologies to shorten delivery times
However, nearly 50 percent materials such as multi-colored prints and textured materials can’t be measured by a traditional spectrophotometer. For these, the industry has introduced innovative spectrophotometers that offer the benefits of digital color measurement and communication to this previously neglected category. The new technology is already shortening the development and production process.
Dealing with color approval bottlenecks
However, digitisation alone will not solve the problem of speed to market. Often, slower and faulty deliveries are also a result of disconnect in the supply chain. This can be attributed, in part, to poor transparency, a lack of accountability among suppliers and the absence of real-time data to inform decision making. For this, brands need to choose the right suppliers who can not only ensure correct color-fabric combinations, but also approve samples and expedite the production cycles.
The approval of color and fabric sample is one of the common bottlenecks in this development cycle. This can be lengthy and challenging process; especially when a brand needs to match colors from different sources. As a result, brands often require multiple rounds of physical lab dips and strike offs until a sample is finally approved. To avoid this, brands should prioritise certain certifying mills to approve their own colors and provide real-time data for tracking purposes. This will eliminate many approval rounds and allows mills to focus on other issues like improving their product quality, ensuring quicker deliveries and cost –efficiency.
In the first eight months of the year, Vietnam’s export value of textiles, fiber, and cloth was up 8.6 per cent.Textile production and exports have grown over the same period last year.
However, domestic textile enterprises face many challenges in production and business activities. The US-China trade war has affected exchange rates, leading to higher prices of processed goods in Vietnam compared to regional competitors such as South Korea and China. That has also affected the number of export orders for local enterprises. Export orders have fallen. Some businesses have only received 70 per cent of new orders against the same period in 2018. Vietnam's major export market –China – has cut import volumes. Garment enterprises have also seen a drop in orders.
In 2018, many large enterprises in the industry had export orders throughout the year, while this year, they could only sign monthly export contracts with small volumes. Orders are broken up instead of bulk. As the third quarter comes to an end, it is unlikely that Vietnamese textile enterprises will increase exports due to the on-going US-China trade war. Enterprises from South Korea and Taiwan in Vietnam have gained advantages from the trade war because they own production factories under the value chain. Korean textile and apparel companies in Vietnam have been the biggest beneficiaries of the trade war.
